Challenge the Idea of Beauty

In my early 20’s, before my skin got too sensitive for hypoallergenic moisturizers, I went to a make-up workshop with my bestie. At the workshop, we learned by putting make up on ourselves. I held up a foundation, and asked her, “I wonder what’s in this thing, I wonder if it’s okay for our skin?” Someone within earshot shot me a look and told me not to make a fuss over nothing.

Embarrassed, I shut up and proceeded to dab stuff on my face as I observed everyone. Most of them had this glint of hope and anticipation in their eyes. I realized that this wasn’t just about making yourself prettier; this was their first step to becoming a more confident, mature and successful woman.

When the teacher needed a model to demonstrate on, he picked the prettiest girl. It came as no surprise, but it irked the idealist in me and kick-started the end of my exploration with makeup.

In retrospect, I shouldn’t have felt embarrassed. To disregard what’s in the product you use when you’re interested in making yourself look prettier is plain silly. How can you look pretty if you don’t take care of your skin? Oh, I forgot. Women have been doing exactly that for a long time… As demonstrated in this video.

When the cosmetics that make us prettier hurt our skin, the beauty industry has just the thing to remedy that – facial washes, moisturizer, serums, gels, oils, creams, masks, and etc. Besides, makeup would cover the imperfections!

Don’t get me wrong though, I have nothing against makeup. It’s perfectly fine to wear makeup if doing so makes you happy. In fact, makeup is a form of expression and can even be an art form. However, it should express you, not hide you.

The problem arises when the pursuit of beauty stems from a desire to look like someone else because you’re unhappy with your appearance.

But it’s hard to be happy with ourselves when we keep getting persuaded to be concerned about our faces, from its contours down to the length of our lashes. Pimples and blemishes become our nemesis and these days, even pores shouldn’t be visible.

In South Korea, the trend has gotten so bad that women can’t leave their homes without their make-up. If you don’t look good enough, it could mean you can’t find a job.

And then there’s the body – the endless pursuit of slimmer waist and limbs, perkier boobs, fuller butts, and even prettier armpits. It never ends. It’s tiresome.

Well, that’s how the beauty industry become a multi-billion industry.

The quest for beauty is not new, but we didn’t used to be exposed to unrealistic levels of beauty everyday. Thanks to the beauty and entertainment industries, photo-editing apps, and social media, we’re now constantly bombarded by pictures of perfect-looking faces and bodies.

Pictures that were heavily processed with cosmetics and technology.

With those tools being widely available, the practice has spread to the general population. In addition to makeup, women are increasing the size of their pupils, sharpening their jawlines, and removing blemishes and dark circles off their faces in photos. All these actions imply that the retouched version of us is a “better” version of us.

The more we use these apps, and look at unnaturally “perfected” photos of people, the more dissatisfied we’ll become with our natural bodies.

The beauty bar has been pushed to an unrealistic and unattainable level, and it damages women’s confidence and self-image.

The situation is worse for teenage girls and young women because their self-image is still developing. There is a higher tendency to compare their natural selves with retouched pictures of celebrities, models, friends and even themselves – all of which are society’s messages of how they should look.

I hate that a generation of girls are growing up with damaged self-esteems caused by unrealistic body image expectations.

Societal trends should be questioned when they make us feel pressured to put on makeup or to look a certain way. We should be free to wear make up or not wear it, and not feel ugly because we don’t look as good as that touched up photo of someone or ourselves. We can only work towards healthier self-esteems when we are able to embrace our natural beauty and unique physical traits.

Otherwise, life becomes an endless struggle for a beautiful appearance from your teenage years till the day you die. What’s more, substance and inner beauty become secondary. Wouldn’t that be tragic?

I urge you to challenge and reclaim your idea of beauty and stop letting society decide what beautiful means.

Take care of your body, and make sure the products you’re using on your body are good for you. Don’t take the marketers’ words for truth – they just want to sell their shit. Check the labels instead. That’s the kind of attention and care your body deserves.

Let your symbol of confidence, maturity and success be your own call, not something as fleeting as the changing trends of beauty. That way, true beauty would radiate from your core even as you age.

Before I go, I just want to say one more thing: pores are natural, they serve a purpose. There’s no need to hide them.

Love yourself and be at ease!

I hope this post resonated with you. If you enjoyed reading it, don’t forget to subscribe for more content like this!

P.S. In case you’re wondering, I eventually stopped bothering with makeup.
I do admire beautiful makeup and respect it both as an expression and a skill. Growing up, I wanted the mysterious smokey eyes to be my signature look, but I’m in my head so much I often neglect to check my reflection and brush my hair. So makeup is out of the question and I’m comfortable with it.
I do use a natural eye-liner and a cheek-and-lip stick for occasions, but that’s it.

If makeup is getting tedious for you, consider embracing your natural look! Natural beauty can always use more representation. 🙂